The Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge is Society for Science's national research competition for middle school students. Students enter after being nominated at an affiliated science fair. This year 1,890 students entered from across the United States, and Society for Science named 300 of them Top 300 Junior Innovators.
Rene: antibiotics against a biofilm
Rene, a 2025 Ardent Scholar, studied why some infections resist treatment. Her project, Redefining Antimicrobial Treatment: A Study of Natural and Synthetic Antibiotics Against Staphylococcus epidermidis Biofilms To Combat Antibiotic Resistance, tested natural and synthetic antibiotics against Staphylococcus epidermidis growing as a biofilm, the protected colony form that makes bacteria harder to kill. The project earned 2nd Place in the Junior Division at the Orange County Science & Engineering Fair.
Meghana: a second year of plant research
Meghana has been an Ardent Scholar for two years. In 2024 she tested leaf extracts from neem and holy basil against the fungus Candida albicans, and won 1st Place in the Junior Division at the Orange County Science & Engineering Fair. In 2025 she turned neem to a medical question. Her project, Green Goodness: Testing the Efficacy of Azadirachta indica vs. Moringa oleifera in Metabolizing Excess Galactose Caused by Galactosemia, compared neem and moringa in breaking down the excess galactose that builds up in galactosemia, an inherited metabolic disorder.
Max, who won 1st Place in Energy Conversion & Alternative Energy at the 2025 Orange County Science & Engineering Fair, was also named to the Top 300 for Turning Biodiesel Waste Into Watts: Optimizing Oxygen Concentrations for Glycerol-Powered Microbial Fuel Cells. He optimized the oxygen levels in microbial fuel cells that run on glycerol, a waste product of biodiesel.
[Sam Daniel — James to confirm whether he is an Ardent student and in which program.]